Politics

Scott Walker touts bold economic change as key to success

Washington – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, on a book tour-turned-warmup act for a potential presidential run in 2016, said Thursday that Republicans can win back the White House not by giving up conservative positions but by putting more on the table for "persuadable" voters.

Walker said a top concern for those voters in the middle remains the economic crisis that continues to hold the country back. Don't give up your opposition to abortion, don't give up other core principles, he said. But voters want to hear more ideas about how to fix the economy.

Speaking to a crowd of obvious fans at the American Enterprise Institute, the governor explained how both he and President Barack Obama won some of the same Wisconsin voters despite being so different politically. Voters, Walker said, are more interested in leaders willing to make bold promises and then delivering on those promises than they are partisan politics.

Obama's mistake, he said, was in basing too many of his decisions on politics alone. Policies must work in the end, the governor said.

In his remarks Thursday — as well as his book, "Unintimidated: A Governor's Story and a Nation's Challenge" — Walker explained he never lost confidence that the changes he initiated in Wisconsin would be viewed as successful. That level of confidence kept him from offering any apologies for the fallout, including the wave of protests at the state Capitol, even though he conceded he had erred in not doing enough to explain why the changes were so important.

Walker's book, as well as his own history as the first governor to survive a recall effort, has put him on the early list of potential Republican candidates for president.

Walker also drew attention from Washington insiders by suggesting Republicans would increase their chance of success in 2016 by choosing an outsider nominee from either the current crop of reform-minded Republican governors or one of their party's former state leaders.

That would knock out such potential contenders as U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida, and even Wisconsin's own Rep. Paul Ryan, the 2012 vice presidential nominee.

"I'd be surprised if they didn't get upset," Walker said Thursday, when asked about the criticism his suggestion triggered from some quarters.

When asked specifically about Republican Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and his habit of taking on critics forcefully, Walker described Christie as a good friend and suggested the difference could have more to do with the way politics is practiced in New Jersey.

"I'm willing to speak out, but I'm not going to call you an idiot," Walker said.